Which movie did you watch today and how would you rate it?

[Swammerdami]

I just watched Nocturnal Animals (2016), a "neo-noir psychological thriller" that gets 7.5 IMDB points. I would give it much less, perhaps 6.3.

The plot revolves around the Amy Adams character reading a novel by her ex-husband. The novel is a horror story which supposedly reminds the Amy Adams character of their marriage. But it all seems disconnected and pointless to me.

Let me describe something weird about me. Early in the film, there is a horror scene. One knows that hoodlums are about to kidnap a man's wife and daughter for rape and mayhem, but the action proceeds slowly, the hoodlums taking their time. I can't stand to watch it. I repeatedly push Pause and do something else (e.g. checking IIDB for new messages!) I'm not sure if I can even watch past this suspenseful horrifying scene.

The movie's a fiction of course, so why should I be terrified? But I am. Suddenly I'm reminded that this is a fiction within a fiction -- the ex-husband's novel is being acted out in Amy Adams' imagination. And now it's OK! I can watch the horrible scene without being paralyzed by fear, knowing it's not just a fiction, but a fiction within a fiction!

Am I weird?

 

[ZiprHead]

I just watched Nocturnal Animals (2016), a "neo-noir psychological thriller" that gets 7.5 IMDB points. I would give it much less, perhaps 6.3.

The plot revolves around the Amy Adams character reading a novel by her ex-husband. The novel is a horror story which supposedly reminds the Amy Adams character of their marriage. But it all seems disconnected and pointless to me.

Let me describe something weird about me. Early in the film, there is a horror scene. One knows that hoodlums are about to kidnap a man's wife and daughter for rape and mayhem, but the action proceeds slowly, the hoodlums taking their time. I can't stand to watch it. I repeatedly push Pause and do something else (e.g. checking IIDB for new messages!) I'm not sure if I can even watch past this suspenseful horrifying scene.

The movie's a fiction of course, so why should I be terrified? But I am. Suddenly I'm reminded that this is a fiction within a fiction -- the ex-husband's novel is being acted out in Amy Adams' imagination. And now it's OK! I can watch the horrible scene without being paralyzed by fear, knowing it's not just a fiction, but a fiction within a fiction!

Am I weird?

Yeah, but not because of that.

 

[unapologetic]

Magical negro.
First I need to preface my comments.
(a) I do not intend any malice or insult. I apologize ahead of time if you take offense.
(b) I am 2nd generation Ukrainian-American. I understand my worldview is incapable of seeing the world from the black worldview.

I found the DVD at Walmart this week. It's fun. I liked it. 8/10. But I would feel uncomfortable watching it with a black friend.
(I have a very large statistically significant number of them. One. /sarcasm) I have seen every science fiction film in the last 40 years with this guy. But not this movie.
Two observations on the 'magical negro' 'trope'.
1) I have seen 'magical negro' behavior in real life, but I haven't seen it in movies. Aside from being black, what the trope describes is the traditional role of a supporting character, or "sidekick".
It could have been anybody: white, black, woman, gay. Rarely needed to be whatever.
2) If you are reading more into a sidekick, what you are probably seeing is 'tokenism'. Token black, token woman, token gay.
I you are going to put a token in your film, the obvious place for them is the "sidekick" role.
3) The film is not actually talking about black people in films, is it?

"Magical White Bitch". I recall a TV show as a kid called "Nanny and the Professor". The nanny seemed to have some implied supernatural abilities. Then, of course, there's "Bewitched" and "I Dream of Jeannie".

S.O.S.W.A.G. The Society Of Supportive Wives And Girlfriends. in "Magical Negro".
I have seen more SOSWAG agents in films, than Magical Negroes.